


You're Not Alone

by Hfiorella18



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, He gives me BDE vibes but he's also a softie, I think we ALL want to bang Din Djarin, Not really that slow burn because I’m impatient, Slow Burn, The Mandalorian is hot okay, blindfold!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21835063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hfiorella18/pseuds/Hfiorella18
Summary: Silya never meant to get caught up with the Mandalorian and the highest bounty that the galaxy has seen in ages. It happened by accident, and now she's in it for the long run.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Original Character(s), Din Djarin - Relationship, Mandalorian/Original Female Character, Silya (Hfiorella18), The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV) & Original Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 72





	1. Prologue

The Mandalorian had to make a pit-stop on an outer-rim planet. For supplies, for food, and to not be in space for a few minutes. Not that anyone would be able to tell by the looks of him, but he was exhausted. Physically, he was unstable at best. Most people don’t take a multitude of blows from a Mudhorn and live to tell the tale. Breaking into an imperial hideout and fighting at least a dozen stormtroopers didn’t do much to improve his conditions either.

The asset proved to be far more work than he had anticipated. He had mixed feelings on this particular bounty. On one hand, he couldn’t wait to be rid of the thing. If it wasn’t glaringly obvious, he wasn’t really the babysitting type. On the other hand, he was hired to turn over a child. He had been struggling with the weight of the decisions surrounding this asset. Shooting that IG- unit for example. The fact that he had to make a decision at all should be pretty telling right? So, he stupidly decided to rescue the kid. When they landed, he figured it would be safest if the child came with him. Ever since the Jawa’s got to his ship, he just didn’t feel that it was as safe as it was before. Bringing the kid wasn’t ideal, but it was the best he could do. With the amount of bounty hunters that were probably out looking for them, he figured the safest place was with him. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to carry the child. Sighing, he made sure he had all his weapons on him, in case things went south, and he scooped up the child, securing it tightly with one arm. He exited his ship and made his way towards town. 

Now Silya wasn’t a bounty hunter necessarily, but more of a good-natured mercenary, if that was a thing. She had an air about her, where people knew not to mess with her, but she was pretty friendly unless provoked. She was built athletically, slim, but muscular. It was just another day for Silya, walking around town. It was overpopulated sure, and there’s no way that anyone could possibly know everyone in that town, but when she saw it, she froze. 

'What the hell is a Mandalorian doing here?’ she thought to herself. She had never met a Mandalorian, but if the stories were true, he was probably here to cause trouble. Weaving through the crowds, she made sure she stayed a few paces behind him. Mandalorian’s are excellent fighters, and that isn’t a tussle anyone would want to get into. He stopped at a vegetable stand and picked out a few small items. He attached his findings to his belt and started walking back in the direction he came from. Still curious, she crept along, following him all the way to the outskirts of town. He suddenly stopped and put a hand on his blaster. She followed suit, ready for a fight. Something caught her eye though. The usually abandoned buildings on the outskirts didn’t seem so empty. He turned around and shot at a Kaminoan that was a few feet to the left of her. When he turned, she saw a little green bundle in his left arm.

‘Is he holding a baby?!’ Silya didn’t have time to process because bounty droids and several other species of bounty hunters alike were closing in on him. He was outnumbered by a lot, and obviously limited because of the child. She wasn’t a good-natured mercenary for nothing right? Stepping out of the shadows, she took out three bounty hunters that the Mandalorian had his back to. 

“On your left!” she shouted. With a quick pivot, he nailed the nearest bounty hunter right between the eyes. She ran towards him shooting over her shoulder as she went. They ended up back to back, a synchronized killing machine. They carried on like this, taking down as many targets as possible. Once they were starting to get overwhelmed, she turned to the masked man. 

“You need to get out of here,” she advised. “I can hold them off.” As if to prove her point, she was still facing the Mandalorian when she took out an adversary, without taking her eyes away from his visor. The Mandalorian was mildly impressed, but when a few vehicles pulled up, practically bursting at the seams with new enemies, he sighed. Ever since he met the kid, he knew he was too soft for his own good. This random woman was about to throw her life on the line for two people she hadn’t even officially met yet. He glanced at the child in his arm briefly, as if to tell the kid that this was all his fault.

“Come on, let’s go,” he sighed. His voice was only slightly modulated. 

Surprised, but not having been awarded the luxury of time, she followed him. Everything from here on out was going to get a lot more complicated.


	2. Denial

A few days later:

The Mandalorian didn’t talk much. Occasionally he would scold the child, or ask her to hand him something, but that was the extent of his conversation skills. Perhaps it was because he didn’t trust her. Not that she had given him any reason not to, but she understood. It was a mostly comfortable silence that they worked in, the only consistent noise was the beeping of the ship and the cooing of the child. She had just put the little baby to sleep and joined the Mandalorian in the cockpit. She sat in one of the seats behind the pilot’s seat and folded her legs underneath her. They sat in silence for a while, when she finally decided to speak. 

“So… I get that you’re a quiet guy, but honestly, I might go crazy. So, I’m just going to talk, and you don’t have to say anything back.” She leaned forward a little bit to see if she could decipher any type of reaction from under the helmet. She got absolutely nothing, so she figured it was safe enough to continue. 

“My name is Silya. I am, or was a mercenary I suppose, but now I’m a babysitter to a child that is obviously not yours.” Still nothing. “I do wonder how you got the little green bean in your possession though.”

He turned his head towards her ever so slightly. “Green bean?” he asked incredulously.

Triumphant that she had finally broken through a little bit, she grinned. “Well as far as I know, he doesn’t have a name. He’s green, he’s small, and green bean is a cute nickname.” 

The Mandalorian looked at Silya for a moment and breathed out a laugh. Unfortunately for his very battered body, he had to bring a hand up to his ribs to stop them from spasming. 

In an instant Silya was up on her feet. “Are you okay?” 

He nodded and waved her off. “I’m fine.” However, as he stood up, he swayed a little bit and had to grab on the back of the seat to steady himself.   
“Fine my ass,” Silya started. “When was the last time you ate? Or slept? I’ve been with you for at least a couple days and you’ve been on the go since. If you’re worried about the kid, or me taking off with your ship or something, I won’t I swear.” 

He didn’t have the energy to argue, mostly because the pressure in his chest and around his ribs were at an all-time high. He slowly trudged his way to his quarters, finally deciding to take a look at what he’s neglected. With all the excitement, he didn’t have the time or energy to inspect himself before. 

“Okay what do you need? You’re obviously injured, but… I literally just got here so I have no idea what’s going on.”

He surprised himself and told her. Told her about everything that’s happened since he picked up the little green bean’s bounty. In as few words as possible of course.  
“Ambushed by bounty hunters. Attacked by Blurrg. Bull-dozed by a Mudhorn. Shocked by Jawas. Ambushed by bounty hunters again,” he paused. “But not in that order.”

She listened, as she rummaged through his medical supplies. Bacta for his torso was a must. She grabbed bandages for the cut on his bicep, and ration bars for him to eat before he rested. Unfortunately, he almost definitely had a concussion and there was nothing that either of them was going to be able to do about it.   
“Sounds like you two had quite the adventure.”

“Yes.”

Putting the supplies in a pile next to him, she made sure he would be all set. 

“How can I help?” she asked.

The Mandalorian waved her off, assuring her he could do it himself. He had wrapped his injuries before, and he wasn’t about to stop now. Silya knew she wouldn’t be able to persuade him otherwise, so she went to take her leave. Suddenly the child appeared in the doorway and waddled straight over to his guardian. The child began to whimper when he saw the gash on his bicep, among other injuries.

“Can you…” he trailed off, looking at the child. Silya nodded.

“I’ll keep the kid occupied; you rest.” She beckoned for the child to come over to her. The kid hesitated, but eventually worked his way over to her, pausing to look back at where his rescuer was sitting.

Closing the door behind them, she began to talk to the child.

“Now how are we to keep busy?” 

After a few rounds of hide and seek and a ration bar later, the child grew restless, clearly wanting to go check on their missing pilot. Silya quietly knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked once more, and when she still heard nothing, she quietly pushed the door open. She felt mild panic go through her at the sight. He had patched himself up all right as far as she could tell, but he was sitting on the floor, slumped over. Then she saw his chest rise and fall and she felt relieved. At least he wasn’t dead. She thought he might’ve passed out, but of course he was exhausted, so he was probably only sleeping.

“See? He’s okay little green bean.” Regardless of all the assurances she could have given the child, he still reached for the Mandalorian. 

“He’ll pay attention to you when he’s better, I promise.” Silya thought for a moment, and then sat cross-legged on the floor, the child in her lap. “How about I tell you a story while we wait for him to wake up?” 

About an hour later, the Mandalorian woke up. He opened his eyes and blinked, trying to refocus the blurry images in front of him. Silya was on the floor coddling the child and talking to him. He only caught the last bit of what she was saying. 

“… and that’s why your daddy is so good at protecting you.” Silya stood up with the now groggy child, and took him to the cockpit, placing him in his usual seat so he could nap.

When she came back to clean up the excess medical supplies, he spoke. 

“I’m not his… I’m not cut out for parenthood.”

Startled, Silya squeaked. “You’re awake! How long- no, how are you feeling?” She purposely ignored what he said prior.   
He sat up, only slightly groaning. “Like I was run through by a Mudhorn.” 

Silya laughed. “Did you just tell a joke? Great, it’s more serious than I thought. You might be dying.” She hesitated. “Your kid was pretty worried about you.”  
His chest tightened. “He’s not my kid.”

She clapped a hand to her forehead. “Oh, that’s right! Silly me. I forgot that you weren’t cut out for parenthood. Parents are responsible for their kids and are in charge of raising them and feeding them. Parents also oversee the safety and protection of their child.”  
The Mandalorian stood and re-armored himself as she spoke. 

“You know something else? Real good parents would drop everything, and I mean uproot their entire lives for the benefit of their kid.”  
She turned to look him dead in where she estimated his eyes to be, one eyebrow raised. “That doesn’t sound like you at all does it?”

He was certainly at a loss for words, and she knew it. She smiled at him and stepped closer, helping him strap on his breastplate. “Embrace it. The ‘being a parent’ thing. The little green bean deserves it, and you’re all he’s got. Besides, you’re good at it,” she stepped back to leave him, a wicked grin on her face. “Well, for the most part anyway.” 

Before she got too far away, he stopped her with his words.

“I--thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is currently a 14 page word doc, with the beginning and end already written. The middle is a big old ? right now but I'll update as much as possible in a timely manner. Let me know what you think!! (Chapter titles and fic title are subject to change)


	3. Stay

A month into Silya joining the odd pair, they finally had a routine. The new normal for them was much preferred by Silya compared to sitting in silence all the time. They hopped from planet to planet, taking out more bounty hunters than they could count. The stream of people that wanted that kid (and now the bounty hunter) was endless. The predator became the prey, and he was always on edge. He never had to worry about these kinds of things before. It was unsettling, but he made do with the bad situation. The Mandalorian interacted with the child here and there, but it was still much more than what he used to do. The child was nearly perfect, only misbehaving to get attention or get a reaction out of his helmeted guardian. The Mandalorian treated her as more of an equal as well. They had more conversations, and he even let her pilot the Razor Crest once. Silya was happy. In fact, she was probably the happiest she had ever been. The exact same thing could be said for all of them. The Razor Crest was home. These people were home, even if one of them wasn’t ready to admit it yet. 

When they stopped on a grassy planet, with trees and streams, Silya let the child run around the fields. The little green bean stopped to inspect (and try to eat) every flower and insect that he came across. When she laughed, it was hands down the most pleasant unnecessary noise that the Mandalorian had ever heard. He watched her watching the kid. If it was up to him, they would be able to be free like this more often. 

She must have noticed him staring, because she grinned and waved him over. Wordlessly, he joined her. They stood side by side watching the kid. Silya side-eyed him.  
“Well you seem to be in a good mood,” she poked fun at her ever so stoic companion. “It must be this planet, and the fact that we aren’t scrambling around. It is kind of nice to sit still for a while.”

“Mhm," he nodded.

She cocked her head, at his half response. 

“You okay?” She eyed him warily. He was a man of few words, so it seemed out of place that he had bothered to answer her at all. Every sound that came out of his wildly attractive voice was deliberate, so this seemed… off.

Silence.

But then, he turned to look down at her.

“Silya.”

A shiver worked its way down her spine. This was the first time that he had ever said her name, and she couldn’t believe how it sounded coming out of his mouth. It was hot.

“Yeah?” Thankfully she was excellent at keeping her composure, because did she just feel her heart flutter??

“We’re going to have to be on the run for the rest of our lives. And I never expected or planned for you to stick around, not that I gave you a chance to decide. So, here’s your opportunity. When we leave this planet, you can stay here and build a life for yourself. Or, if you decide to stay… just know what you’re getting yourself into.” 

His voice was level, almost indifferent. But he knew that she knew that this was a big deal. He’s pushed people away all his life. Then the little green bean flipped his world upside down. The Mandalorian only had himself to blame. 

She wanted to laugh. Tell him that he wasn’t going to get rid of her that easily, but this was serious. Laughing at someone who was so obviously emotionally stunted would guarantee that he stayed shut down and closed off. Silya set her jaw, and grabbed his gloved hand, threading her fingers through his. He stiffened at the contact. His fingers still splayed out wide. 

“I’m staying.”

He turned to face her, surprised, when something dark shifted in her eyes. She grabbed his blaster out of his holster.  
“Look out!” she shouted towards the child. 

In the distance, and IG- unit was approaching, guns drawn. Simultaneously springing into action, Silya shot round after round at the rapidly gaining bounty droid, and the Mandalorian ran towards the child, dodging blaster fire. He grabbed the kid and made a beeline for Silya and his ship. 

“It’s just going to come find us again!” Silya called back to him. “I’m taking it down.” 

“I wouldn’t-” but his words fell on deaf ears. He placed the child on the ship and grabbed his pulse rifle, chasing after her. He caught up and saw the droid in a smoking heap on the ground. Silya was on her knees, cracking open the droid’s head and digging through the wiring.

“Aha!” she exclaimed triumphantly. “I got the memory hard drive. Now it can’t upload it’s files into another droid and find us again.”  
She put it on the ground and shot it, splintering the drive in to a thousand pieces. The Mandalorian extended his hand to help her up. Silya clasped his hand and she was hoisted to her feet. 

“Oh, here.” She put his blaster back in his holster. “Sorry about that. I just figured it was-”

“Don’t apologize.” 

Silya smiled. “Right. Well we should probably make sure our kid didn’t escape.”

“That didn’t take them long to find us. We’ll have to keep moving and keep our planet side visits brief,” the Mandalorian said. 

As they made their way back towards the ship, she mentally berated herself. ‘Our kid.’ What was she thinking? Well, if she was being honest, she wasn’t. It just… slipped out. Not that it was inaccurate. The kid was definitely the Mandalorian’s, and she’d like to think that because she loved and took care of the kid too, it was also, technically hers. What she said wasn’t wrong, she just probably could’ve phrased it better. Maybe not use the word ‘our’. She was lost in thought, in a kind of haze. She didn’t realize that she was the only one walking. She turned around questioningly when she noticed the Mandalorian was standing stock-still. 

“What is it?” She scanned their surroundings looking for a potential threat.

The Mandalorian walked up to her, concern filling his voice. 

“You got shot.” 

She looked over her shoulder, and sure enough there was a blaster burn towards the back of her waist. Waving it off she kept walking. 

“It just grazed me. I’ll be okay. Let’s get off this planet as soon as possible.”

He was going to protest, but figured she was right. They could worry about her injury once they were safely in hyperspace. Back on the Razor Crest, safely in space, the Mandalorian had Silya sit on his cot. 

“I’m fine,” she insisted. 

She really was fine. A little sore, sure. A dull throb that she would easily be able to ignore if she kept busy. She wouldn’t be able to sleep on her back for a while, which was kind of sad, but she would live. 

“We still don’t want it to get infected.”

She wasn't going to argue with that. 

He rummaged through his supplies and found ointment and bandages too treat her blaster wound.

“Lie down on your stomach,” he said firmly. 

She did, exhaustion suddenly flooding her senses. Her adrenaline from the fight had worn off. Maybe she was a little more hurt than she had anticipated. She hissed as he put the cold ointment on, stinging sensations an unpleasant surprise. Her wound suddenly felt very hot. It was bleeding again.

“Sorry,” he apologized. He placed the bandages over the wound, hoping that would help prevent any additional damage or infection.

“S’okay,” she murmured, eyes half lidded. Between being on the run all the time, the excitement of the battle droid and her injury, she was losing herself, easily lulled to sleep.

He went to leave, but her arm reached out lazily, gripping his forearm. He looked at her hand on him, then to her and cocked his helmet to the side. 

“Stay?” It was a longshot she knew, but it didn’t hurt to try. She didn’t even know why she asked. Except, she did know, kind of. She didn’t want to be alone right now for starters. She also found his presence calming. Maybe it was because he was so serious all the time. She didn’t have to worry if she was safe. He always had things under control. On the rare occasion he didn’t have something under control, he *made* it under control. It was a rare talent.

He waited a fraction of a second past what was comfortable, but he pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Okay.”

Silya hummed happily. 

Underneath the beskar, the Mandalorian felt something akin to contentment. He didn’t even mind that she was still holding onto his arm when darkness overtook her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of these will have a sizeable break or time jump in-between each chapter, mostly because I'm garbage at filler chapters.


	4. Tension

After she had healed, they resumed their planet hopping. More and more bounty hunters found them. They were infamous now. Every holonet had pictures of the three fugitives. The Empire may be no more, but that didn’t mean the Imperials didn’t still hold power. Whoever holds the most credits, holds the most power. They were now collectively the largest bounty in the galaxy. A lot of people would do whatever it takes to get their hands on the amount of credits the Imps were offering.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Silya reiterated for the thousandth time.

“Well unless you have a better idea,” he snapped.

She raised her hands in mock surrender and climbed down the ladder. He had been in a sour mood all week. She couldn’t blame him, not really. They were dangerously low on food and credits, they were both exhausted, and the child was restless. He was just a hungry baby that had cabin fever and wanted all the time and attention that they couldn’t afford to give right now.

In giving the Mandalorian space, she got the child from his new compartment in the wall (it looks better than it sounds). The kid made grabby motions with his three-fingered hands in the universal ‘up’ signal. She picked him up and bounced him gently in her arms. The kid cooed, ears tilting downwards as he looked around the ship. Silya resisted the urge to snort, knowing exactly what, or more accurately who the babe was looking for.

“Daddy is in a rotten mood right now honey, it’s best that we leave him alone.”

“I can hear you!” he called down from the cockpit. Silya snickered in response. But, in all honesty things had been entirely too tense for anyone’s liking. They were always mad at each other for one thing or another. He was never used to having anyone around, let alone in cramped quarters literally all the time. That, he could deal with, when he really tried. He found himself caring for the well-being of Silya, on a much deeper level then actual partners in crime. It was unsettling and definitely could not be continued. So, he started being a little more closed off in the rare moments of quiet that they had and got on her case over trivial things.

The tension was palpable.

The big blow out happened a few weeks ago, after they had stopped at an outer rim planet to restock and refuel. He had told her to stay put with the kid, while he went out. She protested, but eventually gave in. No point in arguing with him; she would never win. So, she let him go, and then snuck out after him. Long story short, she may have accidentally put herself in danger, he panicked, they both fought their way out and haven’t stopped at a planet ever since. What got to her the most was when they took off, he left the ship on autopilot, marched up to her and roughly grabbed her by the shoulders.

“What were you thinking?!” he shouted. He never yelled.

“I was thinking, I can handle myself.”

“Oh, is that what you call ‘handling yourself’?” a bitter laugh made its way through his modulator. “You could’ve gotten us both killed. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“Well maybe if I was allowed to step foot off the goddamn Razor Crest, I wouldn’t be so rusty! I was a mercenary before I joined you!”

“You chose this life for yourself, not me! Hell, I even gave you the option to abandon ship way back when. I never asked you to stay, so don’t try to put this on me.”

“You know, you’re a real piece of work. Ever since I got shot you’ve been like this. Stop acting like my father and start treating me as your equal, maybe things like this wouldn’t happen! I don’t need protection. I’m not a damsel in distress, and I’m not the reason that we’re running out of options.”

His voice was dangerously quiet. “If being on the run with me is so bad, then leave.”

She stared directly into his visor, estimating where his eyes were supposed to be. She held his gaze, essentially boring holes into his helmet.

“You absolute idiot,” she started. “I didn’t leave the first time you said I could, and I’m not leaving now.”

“Why?” _I don’t understand_.

“Because I care about you.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you sure we can trust this job? I don’t know if I mentioned it earlier, but I have a really bad feeling about this,” Silya wheedled.

The Mandalorian sighed. “You said yourself we’re running out of options. This is an option we haven’t exhausted yet.”

She chewed her lip. They had gotten a job over a comm, with all of the details on where to meet the client, who they were after, and no idea how many others had intercepted the same transmission. Everything about it screamed trap. The Mandalorian agreed with her. Something about this was off, but what choice did they have?

“Okay,” Silya whispered resignedly. “What’s the plan?”

The Mandalorian went to his weapons cache and opened it up. Picking up blasters and other various weapons, he armed himself to the teeth.

“You’re not going to like it," he warned.

"Let me guess. I'm babysitting," Silya deadpanned. Unbelievable. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one are two of those short, rocky not pre-planned filler chapters. Will probably be edited later.


	5. Trap

They went over the plan a thousand times before landing. Silya was to keep the child in the ship at all times, preferably keeping the child, and herself hidden. The Mandalorian knew that there was no way she would be okay with just waiting for him to return, so she was also asked to keep a lookout from the ship. He gave her a commlink. 

“If things go south, take the kid and go.”

She nodded, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t come to that. Fidgeting with the child in one arm, she glanced at the Mandalorian, who hadn’t moved.

“It won’t come to that,” she said matter-of-factly. 

He stepped forward and grabbed her free hand. “But if it does-”

“It won’t,” Silya interrupted forcefully. ‘It can’t,’ is what she really meant.

The Mandalorian breathed out a sigh. “It won’t.” He leaned down and pressed the forehead of his helmet up to hers. Silya closed her eyes, and the baby cooed.

“I’ll be back soon.” 

He brought his hand up to the child and rubbed one of his enormous ears between his forefinger and his thumb. 

“Be good, womp rat.”

He lowered the ramp and made it halfway down, when Silya called out.

“Hey Mando!” 

He turned around and saw the unlikely duo that suddenly became a very big part of his life. The child, that had come to so heavily rely on him. The woman, who helped them out in a time of need and wanted to stay. Right then and there he made a decision. 

“Din.”

Confusion flashed across her face at the unexpected response. 

“What?” 

“My name. It’s Din Djarin.”

“Oh! Oh.” 

Oh. 

“Well Din Djarin, be safe.”

Something in his chest changed, hearing her flustered over learning his name. He nodded and turned to go. The faster her got this bounty, the faster he could return, and they could go back on the run. He heard the ramp of the Razor Crest closing behind him as he headed into the city. He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

He couldn’t possibly know for sure, but he’s almost certain he has feelings for Silya. As quickly as the thought came, he cast it aside. The only thing attachments would do for him is cause distractions. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. They desperately needed this job to come through or the odds of survival for the three of them were slim.

The transmission they had intercepted was highly suspicious. They detailed that they were looking for a man on the run, potentially with an additional companion, but one that was no real threat. The price they were willing to pay was enough to raise eyebrows. Hutt’s probably. They always overpriced the bounty, and when whoever came to collect expressed their displeasure at being swindled, well, it was the last you’d ever hear from them.

He crept along the outskirts of the city, sticking close to buildings. So far, not a single soul was in sight. He slowly made his way towards the inner city, and when it was dead silent, he figured the job was a hoax. The city was abandoned. The only sign that anyone had been here recently, was an elegant fountain in the circle that, by his estimation was the exact middle of the city. The water was still on. Maybe people left in a panic and forgot to turn it off, but the street too clean, to organized for that to have happened. It occurred to him that maybe someone already snagged the bounty. Defeated, he went to go check the other side of the city just in case. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naturally, Silya didn’t listen to Djarin, and went scouting on her own. Not far from the Razor Crest, but far enough that she could make out the city that the bounty was allegedly in. Her blood turned to ice. On the far side of the city, it seemed a whole legion of ships were congregated in the outskirts. 

She recognized some as old Imperial ships. Others were infamous bounty hunter ships, and the rest seemed to be civilian. That broadcast got to more people than they had expected. She put two and two together and her face drained of color.

“Din, come in.” 

Static.

“Djarin are you there?”

Still nothing. 

She didn’t like this at all. She grabbed both blasters out of her waistband and ran to the Mandalorian. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Silya, come in.” 

Static.

“Silya are you there?”

Still nothing.

The tall buildings were probably interfering with the limited range of the communications devices. He was just calling in to let her know that the mission was a dud. He sighed. Better luck next time, he hoped. He made it back to the center of the city again and he immediately raised his blaster. It was dead silent. Not even the trickle of water could be heard. For a second, he couldn’t figure out why that was an issue, until he saw the fountain again. The fountain that was turned off. Shit. He heard a pair of footsteps rapidly approaching. He stepped backwards so he was up against the wall, his blaster was at the ready. 

On the other side of the fountain Silya came barreling through the streets. 

“It’s a trap!” 

Blaster raised still, he didn’t have time to react before she said,

“We are the bounty!” 

Then a bomb went off, and the building Djarin was up against collapsed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silya’s world exploded. She went sailing through the air, landing with a thud several meters away. Once she could actually make out shapes, she slowly rose to her feet, groaning. When she realized the Mandalorian was nowhere in sight, Silya panicked. She raced towards the site of the explosion; blaster drawn, stumbling a few times, until she spotted him. Her heart dropped to her stomach. There he was, face down and pinned under an enormous pile of rubble. 

“Hey,” she started, voice wavering. “You alive down there?”

No response. Reaching for his shoulder, you shook him lightly. That got a response. He moaned, and tried to sit upright, when he realized that part of his torso and his lower half was trapped. 

“I can’t move.”

She bit her lip, glancing around as civilians, stormtroopers and bounty hunters alike came out of hiding once the dust had settled. 

“Well now would be a good a time as ever to have something hidden up your sleeve, right?” she asked nervously. 

As if Silya’s senses weren’t already overwhelmed by the masses of people closing in on you and the Mandalorian, who was currently incapacitated, something else grabbed your attention. Blinking lights. The kind of blinking lights that were accompanied by beeping, which belonged to tracking fobs. The Mandalorian noticed it too. 

“Shit,” he shifted trying to get his legs out from under the rubble. He pulled out his blaster and propped himself up on his elbows and started shooting at the nearest advancing threat.

“Get to the ship and get the kid to safety!” 

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You don’t have a choice. Go!”

She was usually much more argumentative about stupid plans, but lack of options forced her into submission. 

“Hold them off as long as you can. I’ll come back for you; I promise.” Silya hoped her voice didn’t betray how scared she was. She turned to run, and her throat tightened. No matter what she had to get back to the Razor Crest and make sure the kid was still okay. Then she could get them both out of there. Everything would be fine. She made her way back to the ship without incident. The child was safely in her lap as she flew the ship to the Mandalorian’s coordinates. 

Hovering above the chaos, she fired the guns from the ship into the crowd of people, hoping that the innocent bystanders had sense enough to flee the scene once they realized the amount of bounty hunters that were among them. Killing many, the last few stragglers had the bright idea to run away from the pile of rubble that she was protecting. Landing quickly, she lowered the ramp and ran towards the Mandalorian, child in hand. His pulse-rifle and blaster were on the ground, and an ungodly amount of blood was pooled where he was previously trapped.

The child wailed, sensing her distress. She dropped to her knees. She was too late.


	6. Each On Their Own

On a spaceship, headed towards a planet far far away:

The Mandalorian was tossed unceremoniously into an empty room. He had fought like hell to not be taken, but they (whoever they were) had gotten to him before Silya did. He lost a lot of blood, if his blurry vision indicated correctly. He had blacked out, and only woke when he heard the door to his makeshift prison cell slam shut. The only weapon that his captors hadn’t managed to strip him of was his vibroblade. A small comfort but a comfort, nonetheless. He knew there was a pricey bounty on his head, so he assumed that he was going to be delivered to whoever had ordered it. There was a long list of potential clients, Greef Karga and the imperial client being at the top of that ever-growing list. His time was bound to run out eventually. He surprised himself by worrying about the kid and Silya more than his own fate. Did she have the skills and resources to protect the kid without him? Silya could handle herself, so he shouldn’t worry so much. He worried anyway.

A door down the hall opened, and several footsteps echoed throughout the hall. Stormtroopers were everywhere. He sat up, groaning. Some fancier, chrome-plated stormtrooper approached his cell and opened it. 

“Get up,” the voice was modulated, like his own.

The Mandalorian stood, not willing to do anything yet. He had no idea how many people were around, and he didn’t even know where they were. He had to get more details first. 

“Where is it?” the chrome trooper asked. 

The Mandalorian stayed silent. He knew how things like this went. 

“We’ve landed. If that’s how it’s going to be, so be it. Someone would like to meet you, and he’ll do what he sees fit with you.”

He was led away to meet the man responsible for his capture. Only he could feel the Beskar dagger safely tucked away inside his boot. Behind the visor, he gave a grim smile.

“Care to tell me what planet this is?” he asked sardonically. Best to get an idea of his surroundings. The trooper was silent. Guess not. But then, 

“Mustafar.”

The Mandalorian tensed. He’s heard many stories about this place, granted most of them were just legend. Still, it made him uneasy to see that remnants of the Empire had connections to the planet. He was escorted by an entire squad of stormtroopers in addition to the chrome trooper. They walked across the hot, barren land and approached a large castle-like structure.

The Mandalorian wasn’t easy to intimidate, but the view was ominous enough to do the trick. He might actually be in over his head. At the massive entrance, there were four guards unlike anything he had seen before. They were clad in all red, with various weapons at the ready. 

He was led through so many hallways, he knew he would never be able to make his way out without being caught or lost. So lost in thought about potential escape plans and about Silya and the child, he hardly noticed when they came to a stop. A vast room was before him, as wide as it was tall. It was completely devoid of furniture except a large chair placed in the center. A makeshift throne of sorts. Great. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with a crazy wannabe Emperor. 

“You, Mandalorian, are a very difficult man to capture.” 

A deep, raspy voice rang out, echoing within the massive chambers. The man that spoke came in to view as he stepped out from behind the throne. Djarin hadn’t seen anything like him before either. He was a good six to seven-foot humanoid, pale in color. He was old, and haggard. What was out of the ordinary, was the massive crater in the creature’s face. 

“Ah, you have questions I can tell. Let’s just say that I’ve seen my fair share of action, and I’m far older than I look.” 

The Mandalorian refused to react, despite the bad feeling that was growing in the pit of his stomach. 

“You may wonder why we brought you here. The child is special, and beyond your comprehension. He will be unstoppable when trained properly. Only I can provide what the child needs to be safe. So really, are goals are one in the same are they not?”

Unstoppable. They want to use his kid, his ad’ika as a weapon. Granted, if this thing needed the child so badly, he would be safe. But the kid was not to be used this way. He was a foundling. 

“I don’t know where he is, if that’s why you brought me here,” The Mandalorian said honestly. 

Even if he did, he wouldn’t tell him anyway. Hopefully Silya was smart and kept moving. The misshapen figure stood up and stopped in front of the Mandalorian. 

“No, it isn’t. I know you don’t know where he is. You were spared and brought to me for… other purposes.”

“Such as?” 

“Tell me about the girl you travel with.” 

Djarin’s blood turned to ice in his veins. 

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

The man sighed. “I thought you were smart enough not to lie to me.”

He raised a hand, similarly to the child, and white-hot pain raced through Din as he was lifted into the air. 

“Simply give me her name, and you will be free of this pain.” 

He refused to answer, and was thrown backwards.

“Take him to interrogation. We’ll have better luck finding the girl then the child. Use whatever force necessary.” 

The chrome trooper dipped his head in acknowledgement.

“Yes, Lord Snoke.”

Djarin was hauled to his feet by the troopers. He made it just outside of the enormous room and then he blacked out. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grief. A feeling that all people will eventually know, though they express it differently. Silya… didn’t. She picked herself back up and brought the child back to the Razor Crest. She had to keep busy. The child was the priority. When they were in the safe embrace of hyperspace, she went to work on the ship. Anything that could be touched up on or fixed, she did. The busier the better. She gave green bean his favorite ball from the lever, and a few ration bars that he could pick at.   
She worked her way down from the cockpit, to the cargo hold. She stopped at the weapons locker and opened it up. She was the child’s sole protector now, unless he was somehow alive, which she sincerely doubted. She refused to get her hopes up just to have her heart broken. She put her own two blasters in the holsters strapped to her thighs. She looked through the weapons at her disposal and was thinking about taking a large heavy-duty rapid-fire gun, but then though of Djarin’s pulse rifle, which she had stored in the cockpit. 

She strapped it to her back, the weight of it was comforting in a way. The child was inconsolable. He did cry for a while, but now he just kind of sat there, a detached look in his eyes, and his ears were perpetually pointed downwards. 

They planet hopped for a while and Silya searched for the Mandalorian wherever she went, but eventually they ran out of food and credits. She had to get a job. A low-profile job hopefully. She couldn’t put herself and the kid in any unnecessary danger. Tatooine seemed like it was out of the way, and not too populated. She set course and sat in the pilot’s chair. It still felt so wrong.

They landed, and a short woman came out to greet them. 

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you around these parts- wait who are you? And why do you have Bright Eyes? And where is the Mandalorian?”

Silya was taken aback. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Peli Motto. Where’s Mando? Is the bounty on the child lifted?”

“I think maybe we should go inside and talk,” Silya stated quietly. “I think I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not my favorite chapter, but it's setting up some pretty big stuff. I may go back and edit through this later to make it better quality, but I've been keeping you all waiting long enough.


	7. Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silya meets Peli Motto

“Well it sounds like you guys have had quite the adventure.”

Peli Motto was walking around bouncing Bright Eyes in her arms, while Silya sat and explained what had happened, and why the Mandalorian wasn’t with her. 

Peli shook her head in disbelief. Partially because she couldn’t believe that the Mandalorian was bested. He was quick and clever way back when he rescued them from the younger bounty hunter. What really shocked her, was that he trusted someone else besides himself with the kid, and the ship. Very interesting. She smiled a little to herself, at the implications.

“I’ll do what I can but, I’m not really sure how I can help you.”

Silya chewed her lip. She needed to get a job. She wasn’t much of a mechanic, so she doubted she would be able to help Peli with around the docking bay.  
“I hate to ask, but do you think we could stay with you for a short while? I have to look for work and I can’t bring the kid with me.” She was actually useless, despite claiming that she could fend for herself. Why did the Mandalorian keep her around for so long?

“Oh of course! You and Bright Eyes can stay as long as you’d like. He and I had a lot of fun last time he was here.” 

Silya would owe this spunky woman for the rest of her life. “Thank you so much. Really, this is just the kind of break we needed. I’m going to head into town to find work, and I’ll be back soon. I really appreciate it.” 

“Be good. I’ll be back soon.” She rubbed the kid on the ear and rushed out the door.

Peli sighed and shook her head. That poor girl had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and big shoes to fill, if the Mandalorian didn’t comeback. Peli had told Silya earlier, just because there was blood and he was missing didn’t mean he was dead. He was probably fighting his way back to them right now. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silya went to the Mos Eisley Cantina every day for a week and she couldn’t pick up any jobs. She was getting increasingly frustrated. This place was filled with lowlifes and not one of them needed a job to be done? She couldn’t believe it. 

With a small pouch of credits that Peli had given her, most likely out of pity, she thought about buying herself a very strong drink. It was counterproductive, but it would take her mind off things and that was her own selfish priority. She mulled over what the kind woman had told her earlier. 

The Mandalorian could still be alive. In fact, he probably was still alive and was fighting his way out. On his own, but he was usually alone. So why did she feel so guilty? She should take the ship and find him; forget trying to get a steady job. She should leave the little green bean and not rest until she found him.  
Resolved, she marched back to the docking bay. She boarded the ship to get it ready for take-off. Before she left, she would give Peli the credits back, and ask her to watch the child. She was just about to go find them when Peli and the child came on to the ship themselves. 

“I… I have to go find him. I thought about what you said. I can’t just wait for him to make his way back by himself.”

Peli nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t blame you. You want me to watch Bright Eyes?” 

The hologram on the ship activated before Silya could express her gratitude. 

“Greetings, Guild members! This message is being broadcasted to all ships associated with the Guild. I have both good and bad news. The bad news is that the bounty on the Mandalorian had been lifted. Only the child is still an active quarry. The good news is, that it has been confirmed by a very reliable source, that the Mandalorian is dead. Suddenly, many bounty pucks are now available. Happy hunting!”

Silya’s wide eyes met Peli’s. The taste of bile became overwhelming and she ran to the fresher and threw up. When she was sure she couldn’t empty her stomach anymore, she went back to the cockpit and flopped into a seat. 

“Looks like that plan wouldn’t be much good now, huh?” Silya laughed. She was on the verge of hysterics. She never should have left him in the first place.  
Peli sighed. She was probably in shock. “Silya, you can stay as long as necessary. I mean that. Now come inside and eat something. It’s been a rough week.” 

Wordlessly, Silya followed Peli off of the Razor Crest. 

A few days after the news, she accidentally stumbled on a job. She didn’t know it at the time, but it would be a consistent, well-paying job. In the Mos Eisley cantina, she was drowning her sorrows in alcohol after another failed attempt at finding work. 

Some guy approached her, flirting. He wasn’t the first. He also wasn’t the first to not get the hint. A few compliments and suggestive comments later, she was going to demonstrate just how much of a “sweetheart” she was. Then she thought. She downed another glass.

“I don’t come cheap, and we take it to your place.” 

He was agreeable to it, and she followed him out of the cantina. She didn’t make it back home until very early the next morning, but she earned a hundred credits. Not bad. 

Peli was up, feeding the kid. “You were out late.”

Silya tossed forty credits on the table.

“I got a job at the cantina, working the night shift,” Silya lied.

“Oh really? That’s great! But,” she slid the credits back towards Silya. “You keep those. I don’t need repayment or anything.”  
“Peli Motto I can’t not repay you. Not after all you’ve done for us.”

Peli laughed. “Bright Eyes has been excellent company. But if you insist, pay me back by staying out of trouble.” She winked. 

Silya huffed a small laugh and rolled her eyes. 

The child cooed and reached for Silya. He hasn’t seen her much as of late and he made it known that he wasn’t happy about it. She bent over and picked him up. She was about to call him green bean, then she realized with a pang that only the Mandalorian was opposed to naming the child. She technically could name him now. But she wouldn’t. It felt wrong, disrespectful even. This was a problem for another time. Right now, she needed to sleep. There were going to be many more late nights ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of short but I had to split it in half for the sake of smooth(ish) storytelling. Also Silya will process/grieve more later but she's like this right now for *reasons* 
> 
> Thank you all for your kudos/comments! Feel free to checkout my other Mandalorian works: Gone, and When You Least Expect It


End file.
